Jamaicans travelling to the US should breathe easy – Jamaican Consul General
BY Garth A. Rose
Franz Hall, Jamaican Consul General to the South Eastern USA, and based in Miami, says information gathered by the consulate offices in Miami, there is no basis for panic by Jamaicans traveling to the US.
Since the Trump administration signed an immigration executive order banning migrants from several mainly Muslim countries, and began enforcing existing immigration laws there have been rumors of increasing numbers of Jamaicans denied entry at US airports.
A recent report from Jamaica indicated that Hall in an interview broadcast on a Jamaican radio station said he was concerned a number of Jamaicans who arrived at the Hobby International Airport in Houston, Texas, were denied entry to the US, and had their visas cancelled.
In an interview with National Weekly Hall said he cannot speak to, or verify information that implies several Jamaicans have been denied entry into the US at the nation’s airports, or had their US visa cancelled. He said it was however, a fact that at the Hobby International Airport in Houston, three Jamaicans were recently denied entry. This included a woman who was denied entry subsequent to her cell-phone being searched by US immigration officers.
“When the incidences of Jamaicans being denied entry into the US increases from zero to three within weeks at the same airport, that is something that we need to look into,” Hall said.
He said the Jamaican Consulate research has not revealed incidents of wide scale denial of Jamaicans entering US ports. Hall cited, that this research indicated more Jamaicans were denied entry into the US during the corresponding January to March period in 2016, than were denied entry since the Trump administration assumed office. He also cited that more Jamaicans were deported during February to March 2016, than the corresponding period this year. “I don’t think there is a situation that exists that warrants panic among people coming to the US from Jamaica, although incidents like those that occurred Houston’s Hobby airport where Jamaicans can fly into directly from Jamaica warrants looking into.”
Hall also said the Consulates research supported information National Weekly sourced from immigration officers at both the Miami and Fort Lauderdale International Airports that in cases where Jamaicans have been denied entry it is usually related to problems with their landing documentation, prior legal problems, not directly related to any recent US immigration policy.
On the Jamaican radio program, “Both Sides of the Story’, which is aired on Power 106 FM, Hall said although Jamaican authorities are concerned about the incidents at the Houston airport, he conceded immigration officials in any foreign country have the right to determine who they allow into that country. He also said Jamaica has a responsibility to ensure that its citizens are treated fairly when they travel abroad.
